1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of assigning elements, such as images, and more specifically to efficiently assigning graphical images, to pages.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer software is currently available for a user to collect and display graphical images in a visually pleasing format. Such computer software develops what have been called photo albums, comprising a series of pages having images selected by the user and arranged in various manners. A photo album page, as the term is used herein, refers to multiple graphical images or pictures positioned on a page of fixed size. Graphical images or pictures as used herein refer to a software depiction of virtually anything, including text, such that the graphical image or picture can be considered to have a rectangular boundary. Examples of computer files of graphical images include .gif, .tiff, and .jpeg graphical representations, but can include virtually any graphical computer image having a boundary. For example, an oval shape block of text may be considered a graphical image or picture having rectangular borders touching the top, bottom, left, and right side of the oval shape block, including optional margins.
In deciding how and where to place graphical images on a photo album page, software must address various environment specific issues. For example, the number of pictures on the page, the size of the pictures relative to each other, spatial distribution of pictures, available empty space, and the existence of captions all factor into the placement of the selected graphical images on the photo album page.
Automated placement of images on a series of pages may be considered a two step process. First, the images may be divided into various pages, typically more than one page, a process commonly called “pagination.” Second, the system may determine a layout for each page, where the system assigns an absolute size for each image and a position on the page for the image. This second step, layout determination, is addressed in currently co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 10/675,724, “Automatic Photo Album Page Layout,” inventor C. Brian Atkins, and 10/675,823, “Single Pass Automatic Photo Album Page Layout,” inventor C. Brian Atkins, both filed on Sep. 30, 2003, and assigned to the assignee of the present application.
The need exists for efficiently and practically enabling a user to divide images into groups of images to be printed or displayed on separate pages or regions. A user's ability to freely alter the pagination parameters is generally beneficial. Users frequently view a proposed pagination and/or layout and believe that another arrangement may be more aesthetically pleasing, for example highlighting one image more than others on a given page. Most previous systems enable the user to select the number of images to be placed on each page. Beginning at the first page, these previous solutions assign the prescribed number of images to each page until all images are exhausted. Control over the number of pages is highly indirect, and the last page may include a sub-optimal number of images. If a different number of pages is required, the user must restart the process and either add or remove images until the number of pages matches the desired page quantity, or revises the indication of the number of images on each page.
Alternately, the user may be offered sizing choices, such as “small,” “medium,” or “large,” where small indicates, for example, 5 to 9 photos per page, medium between 3 and 6 and large between 2 and 4 photos per page. The user may also be offered a page layout template for each page, where the number of “holes” in the template provides the number of photos per page. Users may also specify numbers of rows and columns or absolute photo sizes using prior solutions, where such an arrangement provides a direct correlation between the specified attribute and the number of images on each page. In the event the user prefers to specify the number of pages, rather than the number of photos per page, each of these previous solutions either mandate computation and backsolving on the part of the user, or offer a fixed, generally immutable solution, each having a tendency to dissuade the user from using the pagination feature altogether.
Certain solutions to automatic pagination are included in, for example, Kodak Memory Albums version 1.4.64 (2001); Kodak Easy Share version 2.1.0.55 (2002); HP Photo Printing version 3.7.0.3 (2001); Adobe Photoshop Album version 1.0 (2003); and certain solutions provided via the Internet, such as myPublisher.com and Sony Image Station.
Further problems with the foregoing solution include the photo grouping desires of the user and inability of prior solutions to meet user expectations. For example, a user may desire to have ten photos from a camping trip on one or two pages, two photos of a child on another page, and twenty three pictures from a holiday event on still another page or group of pages. Simply dividing these logically grouped photo sets into arbitrary groups of two, five, or any other fixed quantity may not satisfy the user. Some users may simply want to incur the lowest costs possible, and desire printing all photos on a single page. The aforementioned solutions solve none of these issues without significant effort on the part of the user or other individual, such as a retail employee interfacing with the user.
It would therefore be desirable to offer a solution to paginating graphical images on a page or display efficiently, with varying choices made available to the user depending on user desires, while at the same time minimizing drawbacks associated with previous pagination solutions.